Burberry is the second of the major luxury brands to announce a social sampling campaign this year offering samples of their new body frangrance (set to launch in September) exclusively to their 7.6 million Facebook fans. Burberry took the unusual step of having their Chief Creative Officer announce the sampling campaign via a youtube video shared on their Facebook page. Similarly, earlier in the year Oscar de la Renta launched its first scent in 10 years exclusively via Facebook - exhausting 25,000 samples and growing their fan base by 40% in just 3 days.

Perfume companies and luxury brands alike have long known that sampling to consumers on what is such a highly involved purchase is vital for sales. Evolving this concept by bringing the sample to fans rather than forcing fans to come to them is a clever way to generate earned media through genuinely engaged customers.

But can the same precept apply to mass beauty brands - particularly those that are a less involved purchase such as a body moisturiser bought in a grocery store? Initial results for recent sampling campaign we did for Aveeno bode well with many recipients returning to the Facebook page to thank the brand for the product, share their love for it and confirm they have already or intend to purchase both the body moisturiser but also other Aveeno products on their next grocery trip. In doing so they have generated countless earned media impacts into the newsfeeds of themselves and their social circle.